Squares

Below are instructions for a game to be played in groups of five. The puzzle can only be solved by group co-operation and sharing. Click here to download the squares...

Instructions

1. Photocopy the five squares on the next page - one set per group of five students.
2. Cut out the squares, cut the squares into pieces, and place the appropriately labelled pieces into five envelopes labelled A to E.
3. Distribute one set of the five envelopes to the participants of each group.
4. The aim is for each group to work together to make the five whole squares.
5. No single person may have more than five pieces in front of them at any one time.
6. Participants can only give pieces away, they must not take pieces from another player or signal for a piece to be given to them.
7. Participants must not talk or use body language.

Afterwards

• How did you communicate, as you were not allowed to talk or point?
• Did your group establish an agreed strategy or did one or two members take control?
• How frustrated did you become? Why?
• At what point did you start to consider the need to break up established squares and find a total solution?
• Did anyone resist or help this process?
• To what extent do problems within groups require attempts at overall solutions rather than attempts at solutions by one person or a minority of the group?